Foreign airlines mull over ‘terminal enhancement’ fee

UP, UP AND AWAY Travelers are bracing themselves for the increase in fees at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. —INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Travelers flying via foreign airlines may soon pay an added cost related to the rehabilitation of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), according to the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB).

On the sidelines of a press briefing on Monday, CAB Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla told reporters that foreign carriers were planning to file an application to collect terminal enhancement fees from its passengers.

READ: BSP flags impact of looming Naia fee hikes on inflation

The CAB official said they were taking their cue from the local airlines—Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and AirAsia Philippines—which previously sought this measure.

“They are in the wings, just waiting for what will happen with the locals. They indicated that they are going to file,” he said.

The Department of Transportation previously said the carriers had asked for an additional fee of P150 for domestic flights and P300 for international flights.

The terminal enhancement fee — which will be charged separately from the base fare — was proposed to cover the higher landing and takeoff fees imposed by the New Naia Infra Corp. (NICC) since it took over the primary gateway’s operations and maintenance.

The measure, however, is still under review, Arcilla said.

Before this, the airlines were already collecting a fuel surcharge — an additional fee to allow carriers to recover costs from fuel price increases.

CAB has set the fuel surcharge at a record-low Level 3 for this month. Under this rate, passengers pay an additional P83 to P300 for domestic flights and P273.36 to P2,032.54 for international flights.

In April, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) announced the imposition of a higher passenger service charge (PSC) to raise funds for the upgrade of airport facilities and operations.

The PSC for international flights rose to P900 from P784, according to Memorandum Circular 019-2025 signed on April 4.

For domestic flights, passengers will have to pay P350 if they are departing from international airports; P300 for principal class 1 airports; P200 for principal class 2 airports; and P100 for community airports.

The PSC for domestic flights was at P200.

The circular covers all airports operated by Caap, including those in Laoag, Vigan, Tuguegarao, Basco, Cagayan, Romblon, Puerto Princesa, Busuanga, Naga, Legazpi, Masbate, Iloilo, Kalibo, Dumaguete, Siquijor, Tacloban, Catarman, Calbayog, Zamboanga, Pagadian, Camiguin, and General Santos.

The memorandum, however, does not cover Naia as any price increases are governed by the Manila International Airport Authority Administrative Order 1.

In Naia, the PSC is set to go up during the second year of the takeover of NNIC, which started operating the country’s primary gateway in September last year.

The said fee will increase from P550 to P990 for international departing passengers and from P200 to P390 for domestic departing passengers.